IN RE: ELIGIBILITY OF TED PARMENTIER, Local Union 601
Protest Decision 2010 ESD 45
Issued: November 12, 2010
OES Case No. E-005-082310-FW
Lucio Reyes, a member of Local Union 601, filed an eligibility protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2010-2011 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election ("Rules"). The protest alleged that Ted Parmentier was ineligible to stand as a candidate in Local Union 601's delegate election.
Election Supervisor representative Kathryn A. Naylor investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Parmentier was nominated for delegate at Local Union 601's nominations meeting held Wednesday, August 18, 2010. On Thursday, August 19, Reyes mailed a protest to our Washington DC office contesting Parmentier's eligibility. The protest was logged as received in our office's mail log on Monday, August 23 by a temporary employee whom we no longer employ. The protest was not acknowledged or further processed, however, and was mislaid within our office. We did not learn of its existence until Reyes inquired as to its status on Monday, November 8. After exhaustive search, we found the protest, bearing a date-stamp showing receipt at OES on August 23, 2010, and acknowledged it on Tuesday, November 9.[1]
In the interim, ballots were mailed and returned in Local Union 601's delegates and alternate delegates election. The tally of ballots was conducted on October 28, and the slate on which Parmentier ran was victorious by a wide margin over Reyes' slate.
Article VI, Section 1(a) of the Rules states that to be eligible to stand as a candidate, one must: (1) be a member in continuous good standing of the Local Union, with one's dues paid to the Local Union for a period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months prior to the month of nomination for said position with no interruptions in active membership due to suspensions, expulsions, withdrawals, transfers or failure to pay fines or assessments; (2) be employed at the craft within the jurisdiction of the Local Union for a period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months prior to the month of nomination; and (3) be eligible to hold office if elected.
Parmentier is employed full-time at the Oroville plant of Pacific Coast Producers, a seasonal agricultural employer. Parmentier pays his dues by check-off authorization. A member on dues check-off retains his good standing even if his dues were remitted late or not at all, provided he had signed a check-off authorization and had sufficient earnings or paid leave in the month from which dues could have been deducted. IBT Constitution, Article X, Section 5(c); Dunn, E9 (October 31, 1995); Eligibility of John Gerow, et al., 2006 ESD 121 (March 2, 2006).
Over the relevant 24 month eligibility period, Parmentier's TITAN record shows dues payments were posted late for August, September, October and November 2008 and January, March and May 2009. Records produced by Parmentier's employer show that Parmentier had sufficient earnings in each of these months to fund his dues obligation. Therefore, because he had a check-off authorization, the late remittance of dues for these months does not constitute a break in Parmentier's continuous good standing and render him ineligible to stand for delegate.
Accordingly, we find Parmentier eligible and DENY the protest.
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within two (2) working days of receipt of this decision. The parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Supervisor in any such appeal. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing, shall specify the basis for the appeal, and shall be served upon:
Kenneth Conboy
Election Appeals Master
Latham & Watkins
Suite 1000
885 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10022
Fax: (212) 751-4864
Copies of the request for hearing must be served upon the parties, as well as upon the Election Supervisor for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 1801 K Street, N.W., Suite421 L, Washington, D.C. 20006, all within the time prescribed above. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.
Richard W. Mark
Election Supervisor
cc: Kenneth Conboy
2010 ESD 45
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED):
Bradley T. Raymond, General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, N.W.
Washington,D.C. 20001
braymond@teamster.org
David J. Hoffa
Hoffa Keegel 2011
1100 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Ste. 730
Washington D.C. 20036
hoffadav@hotmail.com
Ken Paff
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
P.O. Box 10128
Detroit, MI 48210-0128
ken@tdu.org
Barbara Harvey
1394 E. Jefferson Avenue
Detroit, MI 48207
blmharvey@sbcglobal.net
Fred Gegare
P.O. Box 9663
Green Bay, WI 54308-9663
kirchmanb@yahoo.com
Scott D. Soldon
Previant Goldberg
155 North River Center Drive, Ste. 202
P.O. Box 12993
Milwaukee, WI 53212
sds@previant.com
Fred Zuckerman, President
Teamsters Local Union 89
3813 Taylor Blvd.
Louisville, KY 40215
fredzuckerman@aol.com
Robert M. Colone, Esq.
P.O. Box 272
Sellersburg, IN 47172-0272
rmcolone@hotmail.com
Julian Gonzalez
Lewis, Clifton & Nikolaidis, P.C.
350 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1800
New York, NY 10001-5013
jgonzalez@lcnlaw.com
Lucio Reyes, Secretary-Treasurer
Teamsters Local Union 601
745 E. Miner Ave.
Stockton, CA 95202
lreyes601@sbcglobal.net
Ted Parmentier
30 Grand Oak
Oroville, CA 95966-8706
tapbap@wildblue.net
Maria Ashley Alvarado, President
Teamsters Local Union 601
745 E. Miner Ave.
Stockton, CA 95202
europeartmuseum@yahoo.com
Christine Mrak
2357 Hobart Avenue, SW
Seattle, WA 98116
chrismrak@gmail.com
Kathryn Naylor
Office of the Election Supervisor
1801 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
knaylor@ibtvote.org
Jeffrey Ellison
214 S. Main Street, Ste. 210
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
EllisonEsq@aol.com